I read a Newsela article called "Social distancing advice from astronauts, experts on isolation, during coronavirus". Before living in space, Christina Koch lived at the South Pole and Chris Hadfield lived lived at the bottom of the ocean in a laboratory off the coast of Florida. These two people flew to space in different years, but they were both prepared and knowledgable about the isolation. Christina Koch was on a 328 da mission, and Chris Hadfield spent more than five months on the ISS. This pandemic has now set millions of people into a similar situation as these astronauts. "Become experts on the thing that is threatening you," Next, is to "be your own taskmaster." Develop mini-missions for every day." said Chris Hadfield. "We had to come up with creative ways to interact," Koch said. "Anything that allows you to bridge that physical gap, and make you feel like you still have shared experiences and are still relevant in each other's lives, is really important. There's something to be said for actually doing the same things at the same physical time." Getting advice from a person that has experiences social isolation so much longer than anybody today has, makes it more eye opening to how much this pandemic is not that big a deal. That means that in a way, we have more ways of keeping ourselves busy than an astronaut does.
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I read a Newsela article called "Stars team up for virtual graduation during coronavirus pandemic". On May 15, Oprah Winfrey hosted a Facebook and instagram live to congratulate the graduating class of 2020. Other stars like rapper Awkwafina, Jennifer Garner, rapper Lil Nas X, Simone Biles, Miley Cyrus, and many others. Other stars are helping out with other events that seniors missed. For example, prom. On April 17, actor John Krasinski hosted a virtual prom. This virtual prom had live performances from singers like Billie Eilish, and the Jonas Brothers. Personally, I would love to have missed my actual prom if it meant I could get a live concert in return. With all things that are being ripped from the class of 2020, the world has found the most upbeat and wonderful things to put in place for these kids. I honestly believe that some of these high school students have had such a fun experience with the alternatives they are coming up with.
I read a Newsela article called "Why glass frogs have see-through skin becomes clear in study". This article talked about an underlying study of why frogs can change the color of their skin. It was found that they do this in order to blend in with their surroundings. These frogs are found in the tropics of Central and South America. These frogs are not transparent, but translucent. This means that some light is able to pass through their bodies, but not all. Their backs are a green color while their stomachs are able to be seen right though. If you look at the underside of these frogs, you are able to see their intestines, and their heart. In an experiment, scientists compared the skin colors of the frogs with a leaf background, and a white paper background. They noticed that the frogs bodies stayed the same greenish color, but their legs were able to change to blend into whatever background they were put up against. The scientists also tested animals as well as humans ability to recognize these frogs by looking at them They tried to figure out if it was easier for humans to see these frogs than animals. It's all the same! The camouflage worked on the humans and the animals!
This week I read a Newsela article called "Bouncing Back". In a town called Ocean City, Maryland, diners in a small beach town are reopening with certain circumstances to let people safely social distance. These so called "tables" are actually inflatable tubes on wheels. There is a hole on the middle for the person to stand with a flat surface all around them. Personally, I feel like this way of dining is a little bit on the uncomfortable side. When I go to a restaurant, I am expecting to sit down in a chair at a table along side the people I am there with. On the flip side, this would be a fun and creative experience. The tables are kept in the parking lot of the restaurant. To get into the "table" the pipes that hold up the table that are connected to the wheels are only three sided. There is an opening on the fourth side so you can crawl under the get into the tube. The owner of this restaurant, Shawn Harman, said he has been contacted by many other restaurants to try to get a hold of these bumper tables.
Continuing my learning with coding, I started a new activity called Coding 2. With this new book, it started off with real life examples. It had me look at all the contacts I have stored in my phone. It teaches me about variables and how to change the contacts in my phone to consider values. For example, a variable would represent the contacts name and the value would represent the contacts age. After learning these new tasks, the new activity consisted of going back to the maze. Applying these new codes to the maze was difficult for me to understand at the beginning. I had trouble figuring out how to get the character to move while assigning age value (maze move values). With the previous values (ages of a person) it translated to making the square tiles throughout the maze the value. It took me some time to understand but I eventually got the hang of it.
As I have been continuing to work with coding I have been learning many new types of commands and different complexities of single codes. The first new code I learned was to create a loop for each side of the maze. I created a name for multiple loops. One for the left side and one for the right side. The next code I learned was how to create different patterns to collect each gem. There is a certain code for each gem. I had to create a special code that corresponded with each single gem. This was very challenging and I had to stop and restart a few times. The last thing I learned was figuring out different patterns of the maze and creating the correct code for each pattern. This was also challenging for me.
During the past week I have been experimenting with coding a little bit more everyday. This week was the same app, Coding 1. I was taught three new codes. The first code was how to turn the moving object around so it can back track without having to make a full circle which would be multiple unnecessary steps. The second code I learned was how to put multiple codes into one function. If I wanted to make the object move forward twice and then turn left, I could put all those codes into a box. This then allows three different steps to act as one as if it was a set. The third thing I learned was how to name multiple loops. Like I just explained, I learned how to turn multiple steps into one. I could then take these steps and give them a name. This then allowed me to only have to type in the name to preform all the steps instead of having to list every single one.
The activity I chose to work with is Coding. The first ebook you work with is a book that explains how to code. It gives you real life examples of different commands and the specifics of how to code. One example was teaching a robot how to take out the trash. You need to be very specific with the commands you give to the robot. If you just say "take out the trash" the robot will pick up the trash, and leave it outside. If you say "take the trash to the dumpster" the robot will pick up the trash and leave it on top of the dumpster cover. The first app I worked with is called Coding 1. In this app, you are working with a little robot like person. You have to give commands to the robot to make it walk around the maze to get to the gem. As you pass each level, it gives you more and more commands to learn and teach the robot. The first level is move forward and pick up the gem. The next level is move forwards, turn left, and pick up the gem. As you go on it adds in tricks like a hack (bug) in the system, or a transportation tile that moves you to the opposite side of the maze. I am interesting in playing around with coding and the other apps that come with it. This activity reminds me of when we flew the drones. We could program the drones in advance of how we wanted to fly and it is just like coding. You code the robot in advance of where you want him to move.
When school first closed I was very excited. I thought I was going to be able to go out and hang around people everyday. That was not true at all. Since then I have been mostly inside my house all day, and now my sleep schedule is very messed up. Technology has played a big role in my life while being at home. I use my computer to watch movies and tv, do my homework, and get in touch with other people. I also use my phone for social media and to talk to other people. Even though these devices are what I use the most in my life since being quarantined, it is not good for me. If I did not have technology, I would be getting outside more to go on walks on nice days and interacting more with my family. I would not be planted in my room all day with my face stuck to a screen.
My thoughts on distance learning are that it is not too bad so far. I can understand where it might be difficult for somebody having an issue with their wifi or having a question about something and not being able to reach the help that they need in the moment. Although, I feel like we have been given a good amount of resources and feel like I can email my teachers when and if I have a question about anything. The only thing I find difficult about online learning is self motivation. A lot of students feel as though this is a time for them to kick back and take a break from school, so they never check their emails and assume they have nothing to do, or that the optional work assigned will not affect their classroom grade if they do not complete it. This is false. For many students who fail to complete an optional assignment, their classroom grade will be affected whether it be a letter grade or pass/fail. Personally, having a messed up sleep schedule is it difficult for me to motivate myself to get out of bed and sit in the same spot in my kitchen for hours and get my work done. It is a lot easier to be in a school building, moving around, and having other people around you with hands on interaction learning. Distance learning will definitely take some getting used to. In the first few weeks of Help Desk we worked with CoSpaces. With this project, we were asked to create a virtual/interactive video game using inanimate objects that you do not usually see appear in your everyday video games. My partner and I created a version of the game 'Temple Run' using objects such as a kitchen table, a clothing dresser, and a lamp. Designing these games really tested our ability to work with the dynamics of the app and figure out how to make it possible for other students to recognize how to play and succeed. Next, we started working with drones. New students were taught the basics of how to lift the drone off the ground and control it in the air. Once those mechanics were down, we learned how to program the drone in advance. This means that we basically had blueprints on the iPads of where we wanted the drones to go and what movements to make before it even took off. We are now getting started on working with Raspberry Pi modules. This will helps students with the basics of technology mechanics and computer science.
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